Melek was exploring the grounds of Hogwarts still and was starting to finally get familiar with the layout when she took a wrong turn and ended up at the front gate. Her eyes widen and she shrugged and decided to hang out it for a few moments since it seemed nice and quite. Mel knew that it was probably sealed with a lot of charms so she wasnt even tempted to try it so she found a nice tree and leaned against it, sitting down. Melek took out a book from her bag and opened it to the page she left off on. Mel started to read and zone out her surroundings. A smile creep onto her face as she turned page after page. Her hair blew around as the wind seemed to be dancing around her. Her hair was done for once and not even in a ponytail. The blowing hair didnt seem to distract her from her reading though.

Annabel walked along the grounds of Hogwarts, hoping to find something cool or unique. She had already visited her house's party and checked in with most of her teachers about the school year. Annabel followed along the trail, kicking pebbles. She had never been away from her brother since she was 6. Her black hair was neatly done in a braided bun and some pieces hung at her side, blowing in the wind, like the willow trees that was in the forest near her estate. She neared a deadend, the front gates, one of the school's heavily warded places. She turned around to leave, before noticing a lone person who was so into the book, not to even notice Annabel coming closer. "Hello," she said as she walked closer to the person. Closer inspection of the person, you could easily tell the girl was a Ravenclaw. But that didn't matter, Slytherins could be friendly, right? She smiled at the girl, who was maybe a few years older, but not as old as the sixth-year who welcomed her.

Annoyance showed as a voice drew her from her book. She eyed the little slytherin girl and then looked around to see who the girl was talking to but it was just them two. Melek sighed and put her bookmarker in and closed the book, sitting up straighter. "Hello..." Mel eyes the girl and gave a weak smile, "I am Melek or Mel as some call me... first year here too?" Mel wasnt a first year but she was a transfer and it was her first term at Hogwarts, in reality she was a third year. Melek gave the girl a once over and put her book back into her bag, deciding that the girl was either 1) interesting enough to stop reading, 2) wouldnt be going anytime soon or 3) all of the above. She gestured to a spot on the ground beside her, "Care to join me?" Mel moved her bag closer so as to give the slytherin girl more room. "I am from Turkey and no not the animal." She had quickly added that last part because she didnt care much to hear anyone try to ask her that again... She made that mistake before. "Are you from around here or are you 'foreign' as well?" Melek tilted her head and looked at the younger girl before leaning against the tree again. "Is it true that slytherin is just an evil house?" Mel didnt care how rude that sounded, she was curious and who could blame her? She was a Ravenclaw after all and arent Ravenclaws know for their curiosity and intelligence?

The girl looked annoyed that Annabel had taken her out of the book. Annabel frowned, did she offend the girl? She looked frail and weak. The girl looked up at her, then the area around them and then back on her. The older girl sighed and placed her bookmark in the book before closing it and straightening herself out. Was she annoyed? Was she going to leave? Questions buzzed around in Annabel's mind. Then the girl looked back up at her and managed a weak hello, before introducing herself as Melek or Mel. She didn't look like a first year, so Annabel assumed she was a transfer. " Nice to meet you Mel. I'm Annabel, but many call me Anna. Annabel is too much of a mouthfull ." Annabel smiled friendly at the girl, something that was very un-slytherin. She wasn't going all hufflepuff like her cousin, right? Annabel decided it would be bad to make friends outside of Slytherin, her cousin and the two boys she had met on the train. Mel gestured to a spot next to her and asked Annabel to join her. Annabel graciously took the spot and smiled. Mel told her about being from Turkey. " Please tell me no one asked if it was the animal ." Annabel grimaced at the stupidity of some people. Melek then asked her about where she came from. " Nah, I'm from France ," she said and smiled, hopefully she'd understand now where her accent had came from. Mel tilted her head and looked at Annabel, before asking the dreaded question; is Slytherin an evil house? " History probably disagree with me, but I don't think so...we are just misunderstood. At least I hope, I don't want to be evil! ." " I'm going to guess your in Ravenclaw, because I know your not Slytherin and only Ravenclaws would have the guts to ask something like that. So, if you don't mind me asking, why did you move? "

She wrinkled her nose, "If you dont mind... I think I will call you Annabel and not Anna... you see, I have a best friend named Annaleecia who goes by Anna and it might get confusing... though not for me I guess... so I could try to call you Anna if you really wish for me to..." Melek paused, "Though, it is a pleasure meeting you, Annabel." Mel gave a slight smile at the girl and tilted her head, eyeing her. "Well no one asked if it was the animal technially but they have asked if it was like the animal which is still really annoying anyways." She sighed slightly and frowned then smiled again. Melek looked at the girl, "France? I never met a French person but then again i havent left Turkey but to go to Russia and now Diagon Alley and Hogwarts so I cant really do accents yet... What is France like?" Her eyes filled with curiosity and a smile came as she edged closer to the girl. "Hmmm I guess that is true... I mean evil is the stereotype for it... I doubt that all of gryffindor is brave, or all hufflepuff loyal or all ravenclaw inteligent..." She trailed off and thought about it before answering the girl's question. "Yeah, I am a Ravenclaw... though I doubt it really took guts to ask that question..." She shrugged, "I transferred because my parents grew tired of home-schooling me and my pranks..."

Mel wrinkled her nose when Annabel told her to call her 'Anna'. Was she like her stepmother? Did she not like nicknames? Annabel didn't think so, but she wasn't to sure... She explained about her friend, Annaleecia and how it might get confusing. "That's fine! Or, some people call me Elise," she suggested, she liked that name lot better than Annabel. "You as well!" she exclaimed after she said it was a pleasure. "Wow..." Annabel was dumbfounded when people asked if it was the animal, "people amaze me somedays." "Yup, France, first time I have been out of the country." Annabel frowned, she missed her wooded estate. "France...is France I guess. The springs and winters are chilly but the summers are nice. It was really pretty at night durning the winter." Annabel remembered sitting at her window at night, staring outside, all alone, wondering if her mother was in the sky. Annabel's face frowned and her chin quivered for a second, as she repeated, I will not cry, I will not show weakness. She then threw on a smile and looked back at the girl. "France is...amazing, you must visit someday. So, what was Turkey like?" she smiled. They started to talk about the stereotype of the houses. "Agreed." she said whole-heartedly. She told Annabel about being a ravenclaw amd having the guts to ask that question. "Maybe your part gryffindor?" she suggested with a smile "Oh, I see. I left France because not only was I bored, but my older brother wanted adventure, he wanted to go have fun and I kinda followed behind him, without him noticing..." she laughed, "my brother is oblivious somedays! So what was your best prank?" she asked with a smirk, she loved pranks, specially doing them to others. After she explained her prank, Anna smiled widely. "So, do you have any siblings?

"Ok and Elise? That is a nice name but random and a bit confusing to remember..." She giggled and smiled at the girl. Her smile grew as she returned the pleasure comment. "I know right? Some people... I swear that if we didnt need brains to live, that they didnt have brains!" Melek sighed, "Then again... people could just not use their brains for any conscious thought..." Mel shrugged and thought about what she had just said. "So you dont travel as well? I am glad that Im not the only one then!" She gave a slight nod then listened to the girl. "France sounds amazing..." Melek sighed and then looked as the girl's lip quivering. Mel reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Whats wrong? Did I say something? Are you okay? Did you get hurt somehow?" Concern was in her eyes and voice as she glanced the girl over. Did she need to force herself to give the girl a hug? Mel didnt like that idea... she wasnt a hugging person... especially in public... it was distasteful! "Yeah... maybe I should and you should visit Turkey! The food is amazing there and it is nice and mild weather there... We have beaches and my city is so pretty." A smile and calming effect came onto her facial features as she closed her eyes, picturing Bursa, Turkey. She missed her home and wanted to go back to it, not wanting to be here where the food was gross and the weather wasnt as nice. Melek opened her eyes and smiled, "Yeah... maybe I am... I guess..." Mel shrugged, "Though can you be parts of different houses? How would the sorting hat choose which to put you in then?" She thought about it and then shrugged it off. "Oh that sounds fun... What is it like to have a brother?" Melek shrugged, "I tricked my mother into making tea but every time she used the kettle, the water would turn green..." She smirked, "Then she had it cleansed but she turned her back and I made the water turn orange then again she cleansed it and i turned it purple when she wasnt looking..." Mel shrugged. It was easy to pull pranks on her parents since they hardly noticed or paid attention to her. Melek shook her head, "I am the only child... do you only have one brother?"

She knew better than to try and sneak out of the gate on account of the special enchantments- and why would she want to, anyway? But Alice was still lingering around the entrance, because of her promise to herself that she'd try to do everything humanly possible in the school before graduating.

Which meant stupid and potentially dangerous things, like trying to climb the gate and sit on a winged boar, were about to happen.

But dumb Gryffindor stunts required precise planning, did people know? Because while she enjoyed the adrenaline rushes that came with doing risky things, Alice preferred life over death. Spending a bit of time figuring out the best way to scale the gate seemed like a better idea than falling off and turning into a lion pancake.

Text Cut: Lion pancake

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemon

She knew better than to try and sneak out of the gate on account of the special enchantments- and why would she want to, anyway? But Alice was still lingering around the entrance, because of her promise to herself that she'd try to do everything humanly possible in the school before graduating.

Which meant stupid and potentially dangerous things, like trying to climb the gate and sit on a winged boar, were about to happen.

But dumb Gryffindor stunts required precise planning, did people know? Because while she enjoyed the adrenaline rushes that came with doing risky things, Alice preferred life over death. Spending a bit of time figuring out the best way to scale the gate seemed like a better idea than falling off and turning into a lion pancake.

There's nothing to see here. Nothing at all. We're merely testing the new Groundskeeper's hearing and whatnot. Clearly, all the buzzing from the bees has made some damage, which she found particularly fortunate, for... no reason.

Mags was with her, of course, but the pygmy puff hid the moment Queen Alice was spotted. Mags was obviously nicer than Lotus.

Interesting, though. She seemed lost in thought, and there's nothing more dangerous than a Gryffindor lost in thought. It was probably not the case and that's how she was portraying herself to be left alone, correct? Yes, that's not gonna work on Lottie, so the Hogwartian appeared out of nowhere and stood next to Alice, pretending to admire the gate as much as the Quidditch Captain was. "Considering leaving before your time's up?" Straight to it, yes? Yes. "You'll be leaving soon anyway, it's not really worth it, is it?" Escaping. Even for a day or two. It seemed like so much trouble. The way Alice was approaching this, of course, because Lottie already had ideas if she was planning on leaving the grounds for some reason.

Still no ideas for escaping Azkaban. Pity.

She must have spotted Mags before Mags spotted her, because Alice SAW the pygmy puff. Fortunately, her irrational fear had disappeared by now and been replaced with more understandable ones, so she felt no need to rid the world of another fuzzy hairball. Lottie's pet was safe. For now.

"If I wanted to leave, I could," she said, eyes still trained on the winged boars, though Alice was watching the Hufflepuff from the corner of her eye. Adult now, you know? Nobody could make her come to school. "But there are better things to do with this gate than get to other side of it."

And one of those things was what she planned to attempt at this very moment.

Was Lottie looking for a show? 'Cause she'd found one.

Text Cut: Show. XD

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemon

She must have spotted Mags before Mags spotted her, because Alice SAW the pygmy puff. Fortunately, her irrational fear had disappeared by now and been replaced with more understandable ones, so she felt no need to rid the world of another fuzzy hairball. Lottie's pet was safe. For now.

"If I wanted to leave, I could," she said, eyes still trained on the winged boars, though Alice was watching the Hufflepuff from the corner of her eye. Adult now, you know? Nobody could make her come to school. "But there are better things to do with this gate than get to other side of it."

And one of those things was what she planned to attempt at this very moment.

Was Lottie looking for a show? 'Cause she'd found one.

Point is... her pygmy puff lives another day. So, everybody wins.

Hmmm, Lottie tilted her head to one side and then the other, as if weighing her words. True, she could leave if she wanted to, but then, why would she? Frankly, she wasn't even thinking about anything anymore, she was mostly eyeing Alice, and noticing the tiny glance she was receiving. Smirk.

Okay, Queen Alice, what's on your mind? "Too many things, what do you have in mind?" You know, getting to the other side of the gate had very little to do with the gate itself, so, technically, it wasn't something that involved the gate, other than it being a mere boundary. Limit.

Also, Lottie wasn't helping, yeah? She was here as a witness. Nothing more, nothing less. Probably also a supporter. And a witness.

"Gryffindoring." Obviously. What else would she have in mind? Alice finally turned her head to give her friend a mischievous grin, then redirected her gaze back over to the gate. It couldn't be that hard to scale it, right? Just simple climbing, which she could do with no sweat. And those pointy bits at the top of it... she'd deal with those later. Yeah.

Glancing at Lottie again, a smaller smile played on her lips. "Are you going to help me?" That's why she was here, wasn't it? Though Alice doubted the other girl would climb the gate with her, there were other things she could do to assist, like keeping a watch. Didn't need even more people around.

She briefly considered casting the Softening Charm on the area surrounding the gate before beginning to climb, but that would take all the fun out of it, so Alice just grabbed a hold of the iron bars and started.

Yep. Dumb Gryffindors doing dumb Gryffindor things. Nothing to see here.

Text Cut: XD

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemon

"Gryffindoring." Obviously. What else would she have in mind? Alice finally turned her head to give her friend a mischievous grin, then redirected her gaze back over to the gate. It couldn't be that hard to scale it, right? Just simple climbing, which she could do with no sweat. And those pointy bits at the top of it... she'd deal with those later. Yeah.

Glancing at Lottie again, a smaller smile played on her lips. "Are you going to help me?" That's why she was here, wasn't it? Though Alice doubted the other girl would climb the gate with her, there were other things she could do to assist, like keeping a watch. Didn't need even more people around.

She briefly considered casting the Softening Charm on the area surrounding the gate before beginning to climb, but that would take all the fun out of it, so Alice just grabbed a hold of the iron bars and started.

Yep. Dumb Gryffindors doing dumb Gryffindor things. Nothing to see here.

Gryffin--Oh, Merlin. Gryffindoring? Instant eye-roll. No, Alice, there were far better things to do with that gate than just Gryffindoring. Perhaps Ascanius should come first. If we're being honest, Alice seemed smarter when Lottie first met her. As a Queen should be, no? LOL. Self-proclaimed, right.

Even if she has been spending a lot more time with Gryffindors than any other species at Hogwarts, the whole 'Gryffindoring' concept was still incomprehensible. Kind of. Why would she understand it? She's a Hogwartian, certain things go unnoticed. Like Ravenclaws, most of the time.

Excuse me? Lotus almost laughed, but just eyed Alice instead. "Sure, I'll help," she said, and immediately took a seat on the ground.

Helpful.

While Lottie liked to climb, she preferred trees as opposed to gates. Question, though, if Alice fell and somehow died... would Lottie be able to see Thestrals afterwards? Just making sure.

Did Lotus Wisteria just roll her eyes at her? Excuse you, miss.

She briefly peeked back to see the Hufflepuff being 'helpful' by sitting there and watching. What lovely assistance she offered. Alice gave her a wink before turning back to the iron bars and scrambling up a little higher, finding hand and footholds in the oddest of places. Nearly slipped a few times, too- climbing wasn't her strong suit- but she managed to make it as far as the pointy bits at the top.

Not putting her hands on those, though. Surveying the winged boars from her precarious position, the seventh year slid a few fingers around the line of iron just under the barbed parts as a steadying tool before grabbing the leg of a boar and attempting to pull herself up (which she totally didn't have the arm strength for).

Was Lottie enjoying her show?

Text Cut: You do, you do! I know!

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemon

Did Lotus Wisteria just roll her eyes at her? Excuse you, miss.

She briefly peeked back to see the Hufflepuff being 'helpful' by sitting there and watching. What lovely assistance she offered. Alice gave her a wink before turning back to the iron bars and scrambling up a little higher, finding hand and footholds in the oddest of places. Nearly slipped a few times, too- climbing wasn't her strong suit- but she managed to make it as far as the pointy bits at the top.

Not putting her hands on those, though. Surveying the winged boars from her precarious position, the seventh year slid a few fingers around the line of iron just under the barbed parts as a steadying tool before grabbing the leg of a boar and attempting to pull herself up (which she totally didn't have the arm strength for).

Was Lottie enjoying her show?

Yes, Lotus Wisteria just rolled her eyes at you, Alice Fischer. And it probably wasn't the first time. She probably did the same when they first met, though we cannot be certain of this. Too many years have passed and the memory is a tricky thing.

This was literally the loveliest assistance Alice could ask of Lottie, and while Alice climbed the gate, Mags rejoiced in the outdoors while being careful enough not to be spotted by the Gryffindor Captain. Because clearly pygmy puffs were quite aware of who has a badge and who doesn't, no? Wait... Alice was climbing the gate? Issues. Lottie had issues with that NOW that she was witnessing the Queen's climbing skills.

You call that climbing, Fischer???

Oh, Merlin! Secondhand embarrassment happening right now! How could Alice do this to Lottie, though? It was the worst. And it was so uncomfortable to watch, so she stopped. Her eyes were focused on the grass nearby. All green. Perfect.

Except she didn't look at the grass for long, some part of her decided she owed this much to Alice so she looked up. Only to regret doing so the second the Captain was by the boars. "So, explain to me...," she cleared her throat, "...are you just embarrassing yourself for me? As a sort of gift?" It wasn't working, if that was the case. She now wanted a real gift.

With her SNAC assignment out of the way Lex figured she'd take a walk around the grounds until she found something to do. The Gryffindor already had something in mind...she just didn't know if it was allowed which probably meant it wasn't. Funny how that worked. The moment something became questionable was the moment you needed to come yup with a new idea. Unfortunately for her the idea was hard to put out of her mind, which explained her ending up by the front gate, eyes fixed on the statues of the winged boars.

The Gryffindor let out a small sigh. Just one attempt. It might not even work and if it did she'd put it back the way she found it afterwards. The only problem came with some Firstie walking up unexpectantly, seeing her and thinking it's okay.

A part of her knew it wouldn't happen but staring still continued.

Delilah wandered the grounds like she usually did in the evenings. She liked the fresh air. It felt so nice to be out after being cooped up in classes almost the entire day. Besides, the common room was always rather noisy so she prefered the outdoors.

After walking about for a while she somehow ended up at the front gate. Interesting. She'd never been here before, not that there was any need to. Or wanted to. ... She wasn't the only one here, though. The Hufflepuff walked to where Lex was standing, who seemed to be immersed in her thoughts.

"Hey, Prefect."

Lex was beginning to think this might have been a plan better left abandoned and forgotten. There was no one else out here as far as she could tell but with that thing flying and her without a broom it could get some distance before she really go to get a handle on it. Just think, it might fly into the staffroom and someone would need to take the fall for it.

As she turned to head back to the castle she spotted a familiar Hufflepuff--one she'd totally pegged for a Puffer too might she add.

"Lilah!" There were plans to call her this and she planned to go through with them. "Hey. What are you doing all the way out here?" Was she having the same plans where the statues were concerned...or was it just her...? Lex was willing to bet it was just her....

Sigh.

Delilah tucked her hands deep into the pockets of her jacket. Winter hadn't really set in but it was rather chilly in the evenings. She didn't really mind, though. She loved the cold weather.. just not as much as she loved summer. Heh.

She gave a small shrug of the shoulders, turning her gaze towards the gate. "I was just wandering about and thought I'd come down here. How about you? What are you doing here?" The blonde turned to give Lex a curious look. "You looked.. lost in thought.

Wandering? Yeah, it was what she'd been doing when she got her brilliant idea that should never be realized. Heavy, this badge on her robes was heavy. It hindered far more things than she thought it would have. Lex started her response with a small shrug. "I was mostly wandering around too until this got this super cool idea...but it won't work so..." Another shrug. This feeling of defeat was doing nothing for her. She'd need to take this up with her Head of House at some point.

Of course it would happen later on and Delilah was here in the now so she could put it behind her. "How are you settling in? I've already run into you outside of classes, must mean you're super busy getting into things, huh?" She said with a grin. The girl was nice enough, her making friends fast wouldn't have been a surprize, on the contrary, it was expected!

Christmas wandered down to the front gate she couldnt wait for the first hogsmeade weekend to be posted she couldnt wait to visit the village and stock up on more sweet treats

Jeremy heard a rumor from one of his fellow Gryffindors that the list for the first Hogsmeade trip was going to be posted on the front gate. He had heard about Hogsmeade from several students now, which had sparked his curiosity about the place. Especially since it sounded like it had several very cool shops in it. As Jeremy approached the gate he realized that another girl was already there.

"Are you looking to see if the Hogsmeade trip has been posted as well?" Jeremy asked. Seriously, since his two experiences in Diagon Alley with Schuyler and Delilah, the whole shyness thing about talking to girls he didn't know didn't really seem to terrify him so much...

Delilah stood staring at the massive gate before turning to look at the other girl, raising her eyebrows curiously. "Well.. what IS the idea?" Was she trying to sneak out of the front gate or something? Nah, that wasn't even possible. No one would even try that anyway. She'd read that Hogwarts was very well protected so it was ridiculous to attempt it. Besides, why would someone do that? This place was awesome.

"I'm settling in fine. I'm enjoying classes and I've met some pretty cool people.. I guess I'm a little worried about OWL's though.." She REALLY was. Hence why, she spent so much time studying. But at least, she got to read outdoors so she didn't mind THAT much.

"How have you been? Still eating a lot of candy?" Delilah asked with a teasing grin.

Bay was just aimlessly walking around the grounds. He hasn't been this far away from the castle and it was starting to get cold. maybe he should go inside for the rest of the day… "OHHHHH Look at that---" he was sure he saw a magical creature but before he could finish his sentence it disappeared. "Oh well" he said while shrugging his shoulders.

He finally made it to the actual gate, he didn't know if he was allowed to touch it or not.. Looking up… and up…man this gate is huge! Bay let out a whistle.